Jeffrey Epstein's suspected "madam" Ghislaine Maxwell has uplifting references ready for her at a bail hearing, if US District Judge Alison Nathan schedules it upon a request filed by the socialite's lawyers, The Sunday Times reported citing a court filing.
In a renewed bid to be freed from her Brooklyn confinement in time for Christmas, she has secured support not only from her legal team, who thundered she has been "ruthlessly vilified" by her accusers, but extended family, a number of friends, and even distant acquaintances. All of them have come forward for the first time since Maxwell's earlier this year arrest to throw their weight behind the embattled socialite.
The descriptions submitted by 17 individuals from different walks of life as part of the newly proposed $28.5 million bail package cover very different aspects of Maxwell's character, from the way she is at home to her now ditched charity work.
One British friend, for instance, described Ghislaine as "one of her closest confidants and advisers", saying as per The Sunday Times:
"I would not hesitate to leave any of my kids or grandkids in her care".
Another backer, an author and purported friend of Maxwell's father Robert, the notorious late media tycoon who was found to have misappropriated the Mirror Group pension fund, says there is little chance of her absconding.
"She is no 'chicken'. The idea of not 'facing the music' is totally against the values of every single Maxwell", he writes.
Among her supporters is a former special forces soldier who said he provided security for the Maxwell family for many years.
Pledging $1 million towards the bail package, the security consultant, who used his right to anonymity, claims Maxwell intentionally kept a low profile after Epstein's death, due to her becoming the target of "aggressive behaviour" by the paparazzi.
"This kind of behaviour is not only harassing, but can be life threatening", he writes, adding that a similar example is Princess Diana, who "unfortunately lost her life due to press intrusion into her personal space".
6. Ghislaine Maxwell pic.twitter.com/aJa5UJuf7a
— Truth Ref Library (@RefTruth) December 12, 2020
One businessman, who said he knew Maxwell personally, says his young daughter "adores Ghislaine" and he would never oppose Maxwell looking after her. "I am not being paid or retained to provide this letter", he states explicitly.
Mentioning Maxwell's now shuttered charity Terramar, a friend of her claims:
"Her passion for saving the oceans was inspiring".
Arguably the most overwhelming support comes from an ex-intern who claims that her "parents entrusted Ghislaine with me when I was aged 12, 15, and 19".
"Ghislaine was one of the original 'it' girls in London back in the day ... I held her on a pedestal when I was growing up", she goes on to laud the socialite.
She says Maxwell was "always there for me" when her parents failed to provide "emotional support".
"It is an honour as much as a personal obligation for me to be able to provide this letter of support for her in the hour of need", the woman states in the filing.
At Maxwell's previous detention hearing in July, prosecutors conceded that Ghislaine would perhaps not pose a danger to society if released on bail, but argued that her finances were "opaque" and that she was the "very definition of a flight risk".
Bail Debate in Full Swing
To secure the newly proposed bond, Maxwell is offering over $22 million, purportedly from the combined resources of her and her husband Scott Borgerson, who she reportedly married in a low-key ceremony in 2016.
The remainder – around $7 million – is to be footed by a handful of close family members, including Maxwell's US-residing twin sisters, according to the socialite's court filing earlier this month.
The sum is viewed by Maxwell's team as sufficient enough to be a sweeping guarantee of Maxwell's eagerness to be put under house arrest, with electronic GPS tags attached and her New York residence surveilled 24/7.
She is also said to be prepared to fully waive her rights to contest extradition from France or England, the two countries other than the US where Maxwell holds citizenship.
Prosecutors Rip Into Bail Effort
Federal prosecutors in New York, however, are urging the judge to reject Ghislaine Maxwell's second attempt to be released on bail months ahead of trial, arguing that she remains an "extreme flight risk" because of her foreign ties, her alleged "lack of candor", and her "demonstrated willingness and sophisticated ability to live in hiding", the court documents recently made public suggest. The prosecution also argued the proposed GPS monitoring would offer "little value for a defendant who poses such a significant flight risk because it does nothing to prevent the defendant's flight once it has been removed".
Maxwell is due to stand trial in July and faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted of sex trafficking for Epstein's notorious network and two counts of perjury. She has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying that despite having once been partners and friends with the deceased sex offender, she distanced herself from him years before his death.
Epstein, who in 2008 was convicted of paedophilia, was found dead in his Manhattan prison cell in August 2019, a month after being detained on new child sex trafficking charges.
